New Challenge for Myanmar: Preparing for Mass Tourism

People visit the Shwedagon Pagoda during the yellow robe weaving festival in Yangon on Nov 9.

Travelers who are thinking of visiting Myanmar now that the pariah nation appears to be on a road to reform, be forewarned: The country has a long way to go before its roads, hotels and other tourist infrastructure are ready to handle big numbers of international travelers.

Hopes are high that Myanmar – which has long been the subject of Western sanctions – will see a new influx of foreigners now that the government appears to be working hard to restore relations with the outside world, with numerous economic and social reforms this year. Myanmar has some of Asia’s least-visited historic treasures, including the 12th century temples of Bagan, as well as long stretches of under-developed beach that could, in theory at least, rival the shores of Thailand or Indonesia in the eyes of international travelers. Myanmar also has a handful of luxury resorts such as The Strand Hotel and Governor’s Palace in Yangon, which cater to a small but extremely wealthy international set, mainly Europeans.

Associated Press

Visitors arrive early in the morning at Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon.

But as one of the poorest nations in Asia, Myanmar still faces major infrastructure woes and other problems it must address before it can sustain anything close to the number of visitors seen in other major Southeast Asian countries.

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Tourists face bone-crushing roads, dilapidated vehicles (often without air conditioning), and a shortage of hotel beds during busy parts of the year (including December), with no new major hotel developments in the largest city, Yangon, since the 1990s. The country’s immature banking system means that travelers have to carry clean, U.S. dollar bills everywhere they go because it’s virtually impossible to get money, and most businesses don’t accept credit cards (when they do, as in some hotels, they typically slap on enormous service fees). A lack of quality medical care for travelers can also be a big problem if they run into any emergencies.

Another area of concern is air travel. Booking seats on planes from overseas – or even finding out when planes fly – is hard without the help of a local tour agent, and even then travelers don’t always know when their flights will depart, since scheduled runs are often canceled or rescheduled, especially in the rainy season. Although the country has had relatively few air disasters in recent years, planes are often old and rickety, leaving travelers wary.

Much of that may change if the country attracts more foreign investment. Currently, most U.S. companies are blocked from doing business in Myanmar because of sanctions imposed since the late 1990s to punish the country for its poor human rights record. Many Asian hospitality firms, meanwhile, have steered clear since the 1990s because of erratic policymaking and unclear legal protections in Myanmar, as well as continued bad press as dissident leaders such as Aung San Suu Kyi called on tourists to boycott the country.

Currently, Myanmar only attracts a small number of visitors – estimated at between 300,000 and 600,000 or so each year, compared to more than 15 million annually in Thailand.

But property investors have been scouring Yangon for deals over the past six months, and many more hospitality firms are poised to enter if the political situation continues to improve. Ms. Suu Kyi, meanwhile, has softened her position on inviting tourists.

If Myanmar does open up more, the onset of mass tourism will undoubtedly strain the country’s existing infrastructure further, at least for a while. It could also threaten some of the country’s most-cherished architectural sites, which are managed by authorities whose budgets can’t compare with the preservation money available in richer countries.

More tourists would also inevitably change Myanmar’s culture – possibly for good in some ways, but for those who have visited Myanmar in recent years, it’s hard to picture what hordes of camera-toting tourists will do to day-to-day life in some of its smaller communities.

Anticipating these and other challenges, tourism leaders met in Bagan in recent weeks to chart possible strategies to upgrade the country’s infrastructure while also putting in place more sustainable development policies to ensure historical sites are protected.

“Myanmar needs a lot,” said Martin J Craigs, chief executive of the Pacific Asia Travel Association in Bangkok, which participated in the event.“Uncontrolled mass tourism will quickly backfire” if it isn’t accompanied by sound planning, he said.

Among other things, he said, Myanmar needs more hotels in different categories across the country – including Yangon, Mandalay, Inle Lake, Bagan and also at the emerging beach destinations along western parts of the country. Although the country does have high-quality airport facilities, it will need more international and domestic flights. Developing road and rail will also be a major challenge, he said.

To help ensure those developments occur – and make sure they are accompanied by environmental protections and programs to share profits with poorer segments of society –PATA has offered to form a taskforce with tourism authorities in Myanmar. But the country has a long history of reserving much of the income from tourism for businessmen with close ties to the powerful Myanmar military, and it’s unclear how much of that will change in the years ahead.

Some travel experts are hoping for the best. “The infrastructure will soon be sorely tested, but this will soon pass,” said John Watson, chief executive officer of Diethelm Travel Group, which is among the biggest tour operators in Myanmar. “The country is awash with newly arrived fortune seekers and many of the people who have been sitting on land-banks are starting to develop hotels and resorts,” he said. A recent program to allow more residents to import foreign vehicles into Myanmar should also help modernize the local fleet and get some of the worst rattle-trap vehicles off the road.

“All in all, the future is bright for Myanmar tourism if things continue as they seem to be,” he said.

For now, though, Myanmar remains something of an adventure destination for many travelers, especially those who are wandering beyond the main city of Yangon.

About Southeast Asia Real Time

Indonesia Real Time provides analysis and insight into the region, which includes Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Brunei. Contact the editors at SEAsia@wsj.com.

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